Wanderings

Musings, Inspirations, Ideas, and Stuff by Dave

Friday, November 12, 2010

Inspiration

Last week my lovely wife and I had the good fortune to attend the Pillar Community Innovation Awards at the London Convention Centre. http://www.pillarnonprofit.ca/news_and_events/pillar_community_innovation_awards_2010/It’s been two and a half years since Diana and I moved to London from Toronto (Diana grew up here in London), and now that we’ve settled in I’ve started thinking about how I can get more involved in the community. We thought attending these awards might be a good way to start learning about what’s going on in the city, and what sort of non-profits are at work here. In my career, I’ve worked for a few non-profit organizations – the United Way in Toronto and the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario, so could really appreciate all the hard work that all the nominees put forth considering all the daily challenges they face. It must have been very difficult for the awards committee to reach their decisions. The rewards that come with working for a non-profit are so big though that I really came away from the event being inspired, engaged and wanting to contribute more.

I was also equally inspired by the people we talked to that evening. There were a few people from rtraction (http://www.rtraction.com/), a company that is big on supporting the community, and that Diana had worked with so we chatted with them for a little while. We also talked with some people from the Sunshine Foundation (http://www.sunshine.ca/), and a friend of ours ended up winning one of the two fabulous prize packages! I was even surprised to find out I knew one of the people who presented the grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (he and I often share iPad ideas and I noticed him using it for notes when at the podium).

By the end of the night I was re-energized and thrilled with what was happening in London and all the good work people were doing. I know that it’s not enough to just pass through this life – I think everyone has an obligation to make this a better world than the one we were born into. It’s just a matter of finding something that resonates within you; something that you can be passionate about, so that when you do whatever it is that you do, your enthusiasm and energy becomes infectious and inspiring to those around you.